Labor Statistics for the Long Island Region
Nassau and Suffolk Counties

Developments in the Long Island Labor Market

The number of private sector jobs on Long Island increased over the year by 14,900, or 1.4 percent, to 1,114,900 in December 2014.In comparison, the state’s over-the-year private sector growth rate was (+1.5 percent) and the nation’s was (+2.5 percent).

Long Island’s private sector job count fell by 1,100 between November and December (not seasonally adjusted), noticeably weaker than the typical gain of over 5,000 jobs. Holiday hiring in retail trade (+3,400) was slightly less than the historical gain of 4,800. Employment in natural resources, mining and construction also pulled back more than normal in December, dropping by 2,800. Most other sectors were broadly in line with their historical norms for December.

Six of nine private industry sectors gained jobs in December compared to a year ago — education and health services (+7,700), trade, transportation, and utilities (+3,200), leisure and hospitality (+2,900), natural resources, mining, and construction (+2,700), and professional and business services (+2,400) all added at least 1,000 jobs.The largest loss was in the financial activities sector which lost 3,400 jobs over the year. The government sector lost 1,200 jobs over-the-year.